For all of its positives, there’s no denying that California also has its share of problems. It’s expensive to live here, the ground moves a lot, water can be scarce and, as the last few years have shown, wildfires are a constant threat. All of which is apparently joyous news to the folks...

One would presume that includes not spending money that isn’t yours to spend, a lesson apparently lost on former California Assemblymember Joe Canciamilla. As the East Bay Times reports , Canciamilla – the county’s top elections official - recently resigned after admitting he spent...

How bad is our current political discourse? Oh, it’s bad. Case in point today comes from California, where Donald Trump Jr. tried to have a promotional stop for his new book. (I know what you’re thinking – wouldn’t it better if he maybe read one? Yes, but that’s a different...

California Public Utilities Commission Votes The CALIFORNIA Public Utilities Commission votes unanimously to order an investigation into the intentional blackouts by Pacific Gas & Electric and other utilities that left millions of Golden State residents statewide without power over the course...

Cuomo Threatens NYC Utility NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) threatened to revoke the license of a utility that provides gas to New York City and Long Island unless it begins providing natural gas to new customers on Long Island. Cuomo also vowed to take legal action against the utility National Grid...

North Dakota is currently the only state to have created a public bank, which it did way back in 1919. But momentum for more is growing at both the state and local level. The latest effort was launched last week in New Jersey, where New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) ordered the state to develop a...

In 2018 Texas had the most wildfires of any state, 10,541 of them, and the sixth highest number of acres burned, at 569,811, according to data compiled by the Insurance Information Institute from the National Interagency Fire Center. California had the second highest number of wildfires, at 8,054, and...

Fire-prompted power shutoffs that left millions of Californians in the dark have pushed Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), one of the nation’s largest utilities, to the brink of a state government takeover. The blackouts touched off public protests, calls by legislators and local officials...

Baltimore City Council Approves New Regulation The BALTIMORE City Council approves a new regulation that bans retailers from offering plastic bags to customers at checkout. The new law allows retailers to use small plastic bags to wrap deli products, meats and fish (FOXBALTIMORE.COM). San Diego...

Massachusetts House and Senate Approve HB 4203 The MASSACHUSETTS House and Senate overwhelmingly approve HB 4203 , which would ban Bay State drivers from talking on a handheld device while behind the wheel. It moves to Gov. Charlie Baker (R), who is expected to sign it into law (STATE HOUSE NEWS ...

California Governor Imposes A Moratorium CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) imposes a moratorium on new hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and steam-injected oil drilling in the Golden State until the permits for those projects can be reviewed by an independent panel of scientists (CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR’S...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said the Golden State government will no longer buy cars from carmakers that don’t adhere to the state’s strict emissions rules. The boycott is a direct response to a bevy of car companies that recently sided with the Trump administration in its attempt...

CA Budget Surplus Could Grow to $26B by 2021 A report from CALIFORNIA’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office indicates the state’s cash reserves could reach a record $26 billion by 2021. Over a quarter of that sum would be unrestricted funds that state lawmakers could spend as...

As of mid-October, 26 states had introduced legislation this year dealing with the privacy of consumer data, according to analysis of LexisNexis State Net legislative data by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Seven of those states had enacted such measures, including Hawaii, where a consumer...

It’s the holiday season, and if most voters are thinking about politics at all they are probably pondering more about how to get through family festivities without a major blowup over differing political philosophies than they are about next year’s legislative agendas. But rest assured...